Location based format selection for information services

Abstract

A call control system comprises an interface configured to receive from a caller a session request for an information service, and a processing system configured to determine a location of the caller, select a format for the information service from a plurality of formats based on the location of the caller, and generate a session setup message for the information service indicating the selected format. The interface is further configured to transmit the session setup message to the information service.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]Not applicableFEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT[0002]Not applicableMICROFICHE APPENDIX[0003]Not applicableBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0004]1. Field of the Invention[0005]The invention relates to telecommunications, and in particular, to location based format selection for telecommunication information services.[0006]2. Description of the Prior Art[0007]Telecommunication service providers increasingly offer specialized dialing services to customers. For example, some providers offer customers information services related to particular events. A customer can dial a specialized phone number for an event and their provider will connect the customer to a service that provides information related to the event. A typical information service often times includes a media unit that plays out an audio information stream to a customer over a bearer connection. In such a case, the connection between the customer handset and the media unit requires a bandwidth ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]An embodiment of the invention helps solve the above problems and other problems by providing methods, systems, and software for providing information services in various formats, depending upon the location of a caller. In this manner, the delivery of an information service to a large number of callers within a particular geographical region or location could be optimized, rather than having to block calls or otherwise provide substandard service.

Problems solved by technology

One drawback from the perspective of a service provider is that a large number of customers could call a single information service nearly simultaneously and from a single location.

In the case of wireless telecommunications, a large volume of calls to an information service could overwhelm the portion of a wireless network serving the location.

Unfortunately, provisioning and deploying temporary service equipment is expensive and inefficient.

Regardless, the actual bandwidth demand could still exceed that provided by temporary equipment.

However, blocking a call regardless of whether the call is a voice call or an information service call could result in customer dissatisfaction.

In addition, monitoring the available bandwidth of a wireless network on a per-call basis could be overly onerous.

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